

‘Unparalleled’ study finds psilocybin protects against nerve damage from chemotherapy
scientificamerican.comPsilocybin reverses depressive behaviors and restores brain cell growth in stressed rats
psypost.orgPortals vs. Pathways: The Real Work After Psychedelics | Jonathan Schecter
There’s a big difference between having a psychedelic experience and actually doing something with it.
Jonathan Schecter, host of Vital Point: Pathways to Integration and founder of Pathways Integration, joins us to talk about what happens after the breakthrough. Drawing from his own experiences with psychedelics, meditation, Buddhism, breathwork, somatic practices, and integration coaching, Jonathan explores the gap between having an insight and actually changing your life.
We talk about why the biggest psychedelic experience is not necessarily the most useful one, the role of trauma and nervous system regulation, when psychedelic insights should be questioned rather than followed, and Jonathan’s distinction between “portals” and “pathways”: the dramatic experiences that can suddenly move us somewhere new versus the slower, less exciting work of learning how to live there.
Because eventually the trip ends. You go home. Your relationships, habits, job, and problems are still waiting for you. The question is whether anything actually changed.
In the extended Patreon conversation, we go further into the uncomfortable side of psychedelic integration: whether integration itself is becoming a product, whether some people would be better served by stepping away from psychedelic culture entirely, the medicalization of psychedelics, and why the obsession with heroic doses may sometimes get in the way of the work.
How psilocybin alters consciousness to create a sense of ‘oneness’
scientificamerican.comWhere Does Psychedelic Therapy End and Psychedelic Wellness Begin?
The Counterculture of Aging: Abbie Rosner on Psychedelics and Elderhood - Divergent States
divergentstates.buzzsprout.comCan ‘magic mushrooms’ help treat cocaine dependence?
scientificamerican.comPsychedelics Won't Erase Your Past. They Can Change How You See It.
Naked Out Loud: Machan Taylor on Memory, Music, and MDMA Therapy - Divergent States
divergentstates.buzzsprout.com‘There are no bad trips’... do we need to retire this phrase?
Sometimes the people you're tripping with become part of the difficult experience
The Art of Psychedelic Peer Support
What actually happens when a psychedelic experience becomes overwhelming in the middle of a concert, festival, or crowded event?
3L1T3 and Bryan sit down with Case Newsom, emergency medicine physician and medical director of the Zendo Project, to explore the practical art of psychedelic peer support. Case explains why helping someone through a difficult trip often means resisting the urge to take control, offering simple choices, and creating enough safety for the experience to unfold.
They also discuss Zendo’s integration with medical and security teams at Red Rocks, why emergency rooms can intensify psychedelic distress, and how compassionate on-site care can prevent unnecessary restraint, sedation, and hospitalization. Case shares how one major Denver event went from 54 hospital transports to 17 after psychedelic peer support was embedded alongside medical services.
The conversation expands beyond festivals into the larger need for harm reduction, community support, and psychedelic literacy as these substances become increasingly accessible.
Who Should Be Allowed to Guide Psychedelic Experiences? | Dori Lewis
Dori Lewis is a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, Natural Medicine Facilitator, and Co-Founder of Elemental Psychedelics. She also owns Reflective Healing Center, one of Colorado's licensed psychedelic healing centers.
As psychedelic therapy moves from the underground into legal clinics and state-regulated systems, a difficult question emerges: what actually makes someone qualified to guide another person through a psychedelic experience?
In this conversation, we explore the gap between licensing and competency, facilitator ethics, psychedelic training, integration, commercialization, spiritual authority, and the challenges of scaling psychedelic care without losing the human element that makes it effective.
We also discuss Colorado's natural medicine program, the role of personal psychedelic experience in facilitator training, the risks of "guru culture," and why Dori believes psychedelics are powerful tools—but not magic bullets.